18 March 1998 Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Congressional Record: March 17, 1998 (Senate)] STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS By Mr. FAIRCLOTH: S. 1786. A bill to provide for the conduct of a study and report concerning the ability of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the growing threat of viral epidemics and biological and chemical terrorism; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. centers for disease control and prevention legislation Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to address the growing threats of viral epidemics and bioterrorism in our nation. I have serious concerns that one of our nation's first lines of defense, the CDC, may not have adequate resources to address these increasingly serious problems. Scientists meeting at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Disease in Atlanta last week concluded we were only slightly better prepared today to handle a biologic attack than we were in 1991 at the start of Desert Storm, and we were totally ill-prepared then! While the U.S. military prepares to vaccinate our troops against anthrax, there is currently no national plan to protect civilians from this deadly virus. Ironically, the day after the International Infectious Disease conference, a business located in Phoenix was threatened with a bioterrorism attack involving an envelope supposedly soaked with the deadly anthrax virus, sending ten employees to the hospital. This comes on the heels of an earlier FBI arrest of two men in Las Vegas who claimed to have anthrax in their possession. This growing threat is real, and not limited to germs used in war. The first [[Page S2124]] recorded case of bioterrorism occurred in 1984, when members of a religious cult in Oregon deliberately contaminated local salad bars with the salmonella bacteria, causing 751 cases of fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Their goal had been to incapacitate voters so they could sway a local election. More recently, we've seen many diseases we thought we'd conquered reappearing in more virulent forms. Since December, 26 Texans have died and hundreds fallen ill from an outbreak of an invasive Group A streptococcus bacteria. In Milwaukee, contaminated drinking water sickened 400,000 citizens and sent 4,000 to the hospital with over 50 deaths. Mr. President, I voiced my concern that the Centers for Disease Control does not have the resources necessary to fight these wars with Secretary Shalala at the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee hearing last week, and have asked that the Subcommittee Chairman, my colleague from Pennsylvania, Senator Specter join me in holding a hearing on the agency's role and abilities to meet these growing threats. Let me take a few moments now to share my concern with my colleagues by asking a question: What do bioterrorism, natural and manmade disasters, contaminated food and water supplies, and epidemics have in common? The answer may come as a surprise--the lynchpin to combating any of these life-threatening situations are the 3,000 state, county and local health departments in this country, working in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control. Most people would be shocked to learn that the very network that is supposed to play a role in providing a first line of defense against these threats--the 3,000 health departments scattered across the United States--are in most cases not computer linked with the command center, CDC. Only 40 percent of our health departments are on-line today. The remainder need computer hardware, training and manpower to be able to connect. Local health departments also need laboratory capability to be able to test the agents suspected of causing a threat--presently these samples have to be shipped off-site to be tested, wasting valuable response time. The warning signs are there. Were this a military operation, with the enemy amassing on our borders, we would have no hesitation nor would we question the need for additional resources. We should do nothing less when lives are threatened by disease. CDC forms a triage with state and local health departments and other important governmental agencies to combat disease and biologic threats. While CDC has become well known world-wide as the ``disease detectives,'' the public and many of my colleagues are probably unaware of the work they perform with their law enforcement, military and intelligence agency colleagues in the biologic and chemical warfare arena. CDC's Epidemiologic Intelligence Service school produces highly trained epidemiologists from these agencies to deal with these deadly, newly emerging threats. Every state should have at least one graduate from the Epidemiologic Intelligence Service School--currently, less than half have someone with these skills. Additionally, CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, the Public Health Practice Program Office and the National Center for Environmental Health also play key roles in ensuring the preparedness of the public health response. The legislation I'm introducing today is simple. It asks that the Centers for Disease Control report to Congress within sixty days in regard to their resources and readiness to respond to the growing threats of viral epidemics, biologic and chemical threats. I intend to focus on this when we discuss this at a future hearing, and am looking forward to learning how we can improve our ability to address this growing threat. Unfortunately, our public health departments are operating under severe constraints with about one-third lacking even the most basic technology for communications or access to advanced training. One thing is certain, not one link in our public health defense can operate in a vacuum because disease knows no political or geographic boundaries. In the days ahead as we set our priorities for appropriations and budget, it is time, and past time, that we place a priority on investing in local public health department infrastructure. Otherwise, we may find that the cost of our neglect is more than any of us are willing to pay. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 1786 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. STUDY CONCERNING THE CAPABILITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. (a) Study.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct a study concerning the ability of, and resources available to, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the growing threats of viral epidemics and biologic and chemical terrorism. (b) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report concerning the results of the study conducted under subsection (a), including the recommendations of the Secretary for improving the ability and resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the growing threats of viral epidemics and biologic and chemical terrorism. ______